


Ink and Flowers

by RaspberryDevil



Series: Tattoos, soulmates & new meetings [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Happy Ending, Insecurity, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-16
Updated: 2015-04-16
Packaged: 2018-03-23 07:00:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3758815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaspberryDevil/pseuds/RaspberryDevil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Kuroo is sixteen when he realises that they might not be just best friends and seventeen when he is sure that yes, I’m in love with him." Kuroo and Bokuto are soulmates, the same red flower gracing their shoulder blade and while Kuroo still struggles with a few things he had been taught, he is happy with his life. And then there is Akaashi.</p>
<p>[Part one of a Soulmate AU Series]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ink and Flowers

_Keep on walking, don’t look_ , his mother used to say when they passed this shop on their way home. He didn’t understand why she said this and while he asked the first time, normally didn’t bother when his mother denied any answer, this time even the five year old toddler understood that this was an explanation he wouldn't get to hear from her.

Only a few years later does he understand what distinguished this shop from any other one. Or at least he thinks he does.

A tattooist.

No one bothers to explain this silent disapproval, why nobody pays these shops any mind, tries to avoid even walking past one. Kuroo isn't dumb but he can't get behind it, yet he also doesn't act any different, always hearing his mother's voice in his head, don't think but listen, a steady reminder to do what he had been told.

When he is twelve he ignores the voice for a first time, wonders whether it could be because of their soulmates; he doesn't draw this connection right away though and also not without the help of his friend.

“People used to change their motif so that it fit to their loved ones”, Kenma tells him, that “a law followed so that no alterations were allowed.”

He doesn't look up from his game when he explains this which isn't much of a help for Kuroo's confusion. Were people this desperate to fit in, to accept only what the image told them to? And if this was true, that someone was desperate enough, enough people to cause a partly ban, then why don't they ban it completely? It's the last question he speaks out loud, but his friend just shrugs, as if he isn't smarter than Kuroo on this matter.

“If there is no professional people fake it with their own means. Better regulation than rigorousness. Also a lot of people said that a prohibition is a violation of our private life – the pattern shows or soulmate after all. They hate these shops but who knows what such a ban would lead to. Maybe covering your tattoo whenever you're in public. These thoughts cause an overreacted distaste, but they tolerate them nevertheless.“

He says nothing after that, watches his friend play his game. Kenma is a good guy and sometimes people thought they were soulmates because of the way they acted around each other. But as soon as they see the path of blowing dandelion's seeds behind Kenma's ear, the only visible part of his tattoo which starts on his shoulder blade, and nothing on Kuroo's skin, they needed to reconsider.

However not many got this close to them to actually be allowed seeing it and neither felt the need to clarify anything as long as nobody asked directly.

Still, they are bonding over it. The dandelion might be plain in comparison to other flowers, especially to Kuroo's, but Kuroo never fails to mention that it is gorgeous, much to his friend's embarrassment; obviously Kenma is happy that someone told him, after all he can't tell how it looks with the position it is located, the dandelion being on his right shoulder blade and the blown seeds forming a path up his neck, the last one stopping behind his ear.

Well, not that Kuroo ever sees his in reality either. Since it is on his shoulder blade as well (it's somehow amusing, he thinks, considers it to be some sort of fate for him and Kenma to end up as best friends because of their marks' location) he needs to use a mirror. But he likes it, knowing that his soulmate would be able to cherish his and he his soulmate one's, that feeling is more important than seeing.

Kuroo doesn’t know who he shares the same tattoo with until he is fifteen.

He meets the person during a volleyball match with the nearby school, a spiker named Bokuto. They seem to get along from the start before knowing anything personal about each other and since they aren't shy to speak their mind, after the third match that day, the inevitable topic comes up.

“So, are you and Kozume soulmates?”, Bokuto asks, almost hesitantly, but he really wants to know why the shy boy who is still in middle school accompanied him to a high school practise match on a Saturday.

“Nah, just friends”, he shrugs, before he asks him whether he already meet his soulmate.

“Nope. Want to see my mark?”

Komi often told him that he had to be more tactful, that not everyone was interested in sharing about this private aspect of their life but Kuroo seemed cool and bonding with him over this doesn't sound wrong; also Bokuto thinks these tattoos are pretty amazing and he might only wanted to show off his own.

“Sure.”

“Dude we are going to be best friends”, Bokuto cheers when he sees the peony on the other one's shoulder, the same place he could find his, a red blossom, something which is rather special since most marks were just black and are only overtrumped by white tattoos which are even less common.

“Obviously.”

(Kuroo smirks and somewhere in the gym Kenma feels a cold shiver running down his spin as if something terrible is going to happen – he isn't completely right but he could pass on their pranks.)

* * *

The first time Kuroo meets Akaashi, during their second year at a training camp, he is impressed. Akaashi is great. He doesn’t mind that they fool around like others do, seems to find it amusing though he has a weird rather dry sense of humour. He deals with Bokuto like they know each other for ages and doesn’t refrain from scolding them. Neither is he fazed by Kuroo.

They have no idea about his tattoo because the topic never comes up and Bokuto doesn't press the issue, even if he really wants to know; he is going to be the captain soon and needs to be at least a bit composed to fulfil this future role. Kuroo also wants to know but Akaashi isn't the type of guy who seems comfortable enough, as if he is still unsure about the whole concept.

(Kuroo already meet a few different people, some who strongly believe in their soulmate and would do anything to meet them, some who couldn't car less and don't want to be lead by a mark and some who have no idea what to believe; Akaashi seems like the latter.)

At first, Kuroo sees himself and Kenma in Bokuto's and Akaashi's relationship, but it's still a bit different though he never pays it any mind, not while he starts to realise these feelings he develops for his best friend, his soulmate.

Kuroo is sixteen when he realises that they might not be just best friends and seventeen when he is sure that yes, I’m in love with him.

“I love you”, he says one day when they sit together in his room, watching the recording of a match on his computer.

With any other person he would have hesitated to confess but since Bokuto is his soulmate he just knows that whatever is going to follow might bring distance between them but can never break their bond. And it’s not just that. He knows Bokuto and there is no way that he would mind it if he didn’t beat around the bush.

At first Bokuto doesn't say anything, his eyes still glued on the screen and for a moment he wonders whether he didn't hear him or pretended not to hear; he would accept the last decision though it does hurt.

“Really?”, he eventually mumbles, and it doesn't even take him a second to reply with a firm “Yes”, an affirmation he needs to give him without hesitation.

“And you’re sure that you can deal with my moods?”

Bokuto almost looks anxious when he finally looks at him and this expression doesn't vanish while Kuroo continues to star, takes a moment to realise that his feelings might be mutual.

“Pretty much.”

Bokuto shift a bit so that they are face to face, and while his anxiousness might have vanished for the moment, he still fidgets a bit, plays with the hem of his shirt and Kuroo feels like the moment is an eternity before Bokuto speaks up again.

“So you want to kiss, maybe?”

He laughs, breathes a sigh of relief.

“Yes.”

(The grin he earns is almost better than the clumsy kiss which follows, makes his heart beat faster and causes butterflies in his stomach.)

*

They don't tell their parents yet though they might now, Kuroo wouldn't really expect anything else from his mother, and apart from Kai, Yaku as well as Kenma, obviously, nobody of his team knows about them dating; Bokuto told Akaashi and his fellow third years on the team which makes the whole regular Fukurodani members but he doesn't really mind.

He is happy with his life. 

* * *

They visit the same university, different majors but still on the same volleyball team and living together is better than Kuroo expected. A year passes, another half and after a rather stressful beginning, they settle into their new life. It's then when they get a call from Yaku who informs them about a party he and Kai plan and obviously they won't miss that. Former Nekoma players, Fukurodani teammates, a few from Shinzen as well as Ubugawa and he is pretty sure one or two people who attend their gathering are from Miyagi, not just Karasuno.

They also meet Akaashi who didn't end up at the same university, yet choose one which is still close to theirs. During the time they weren't able to see each other, Bokuto phoned and texted with him and Kuroo also chatted with him when he was at Kenma's place, both discussing the upcoming training camps; as the new captain Akaashi could deal better with him than with Taketora.

The calls didn't prepare them for this though.

When he is standing in front of them, greeting them like usual, both need a second to consider a few things. Akaashi is even more beautiful than they remembered. He is gorgeous and while he and Bokuto agreed that being in a relationship doesn't mean they have to stop from appreciating someone's look he cant help but to feel guilty.

“He is pretty”, Bokuto mumbles, takes another sip of his bottle before his head rests against Kuroo's shoulder again, eyes focused on the young man who chats with Komi while they sit on a couch in Yaku's apartment.

“Yes.”

It's rather late by now, the music on low volume which allows more talking without almost screaming and their mind is clouded enough by alcohol so that it takes Bokuto a minute to form a sentence which makes sense outside of his head.

“Do you think he'd do it with us?”, he asks curiously, a gleam in his eyes which shows Kuroo that this might be a spontaneous yet serious idea.

“How drunk are you?”, he asks carefully, tries to look sceptical though it doesn't really works out and he ends up grimacing which would have normally caused Bokuto to laugh however he is passed realising this.

“Pretty wasted.”

They laugh – if he is honest like that, admitting it, it must be really serious and Kuroo has to admit that this is a bad idea, something Bokuto knows as well when Kuroo says it like that, still, Kuroo pauses and actually looks like he is thinking hard about this.

“We should ask him one day. Maybe he is up for a threesome”, he eventually says, is about to take another sip from the bottle and sighs upon realising that it's empty; he decided that this is his last drink beside water for tonight. 

Bokuto just nods, fatigue catching up with him and while he thinks it would be nice to fall asleep like that, cuddling with Kuroo like this, his plans are dismissed when Lev's loud voice echoes trough the room.

“Spin the bottle anyone?”

It's a stupid idea but neither cares or is too drunk and as a result a few remaining people sit together, some even knowing that they'll regret it in the morning, for a game of truths and dares.

So it's during one round when Lev, one of the few who don't consider it a big deal to show his mark, tells Akaashi who chose dare to show his one. Akaashi doesn't seem to mind, even when Yaku tells him that he can still chose truth, so he stands up and pulls his shirt over his head; when Kuroo sees the red spot on his shoulder blade, the world stops for a second and he doesn't feel drunk any more, just sick (he doesn't realise how Kenma jumps next to him when he growls).

“Okay who of you asses did this?”

He doesn’t mean to sound so harsh and feels bad as soon as Akaashi flinches, earning himself some questioning glances.

“Dude dude we got the same”, Bokuto explains happily, waving between him and Kuroo.

“This is impossible”, Yaku mumbles, speaks what Kuroo thinks and the others seem confused as well, even more when Kuroo suddenly stands up and leaves the room.

“What is wrong with him?”, Bokuto asks Kenma carefully, can see that he feels distressed but doesn't know why even though he can always guess what's on his mind; Kenma just shrugs.

Bokuto follows him to the bathroom, along with Akaashi who seems to regret his choice. They try to talk to him, but all Kuroo can think of is his mother disapproving glance, the chatting and he just feels sick. Akaashi seems to realise this.

“It doesn’t have to change anything.”

(But he wants it to.) 

* * *

Two days after the party it's the first time that Kuroo walks in a tattoo shop and he inwardly apologises to his mother.

“Can I help you?”, he is greeted by the woman at the counter after he just stands around aimlessly.

“Ah, no. Just looking.”

The blond woman who seems older, a name tag with Saeko written on it pinned to her black top, looks at him thoughtfully until she grins. She normally doesn't talk to the customers right away because it chases most of them away, as if they'd be caught any moment doing something which is prohibited, but she can't help it this time.

“Let me guess, existential crisis?”

Kuroo laughs bitterly.

“Something like that, yeah.”

“Care to explain? I won't judge”, she offers with a grin, and he realises that maybe it would help, talking to a stranger and that he doesn't have anything to lose in the first place.

“My soulmate and I meet this really gorgeous person and it turns out that he has the same motif we do. How do I know that what we had is going to continue? Is this normal?”

He doesn't intend to sounds this desperate but even if she realises his tone she doesn't comment on it simply asks whether he meant the part of falling in love with two people or having more than one person.

“Both. It's not like you hear about this?”

She seems to think about it for a second, arms crossed in front of her chest (which gives Kuroo a moment to see the tattoo across her upper arm, a jumping tiger) trying to arrange the right words, until she hums, seems satisfied with her thoughts.

“Well, it doesn't happen often, but I know some guys who are in the same situation and while two of them are dating, they share a deep platonic bond with the third one. And he doesn't feel left out if this is your fear. They cherish their friendship as much as their love. But I also know guys and girls who aren't dating and just close friends, so yeah, it doesn't happen often but it's not unusual.”

“But why isn't this more common?”

He feels like he is twelve again, sitting with Kenma on the floor of his room, oblivious of the world and how it works.

“A relationship between three people? Staining the marriage of two? Cant let this happen, apparently so that’s why we still exists. Give one a nice motif so he can trick people in thinking that he hadn't meet his person yet. After all nobody can tell apart wrong from the right unless he is your soulmate.”

Kuroo doesn't seem really pleased with this answer, tries to argue, but Saeko interrupts him, doesn't want to give his doubts room to spread.

“Selling a fake one as the real is dangerous but so is life”, she tells him with a grin and even though it's not really the answer he sought (not that he knows what he wanted in the first place), he looks a bit more relaxed now.

“Thank you.”

“Don't mind. Come here when you're older. We also do piercings. Well, Keishin does, I'm the bad girl with the ink”, she adds with a grin and winks which leaves him a bit surprised as well as confused so he shrugs.

“Sure.”

* * *

Kenma greets him when he wants to enter his own apartment like he had been waiting for him at the door and even though he knows he wouldn't do that, he is confused when he leaves without another word, merely nods.

“Akaashi?”

Kuroo is surprised to find him here when he enters the living room, especially because he didn't exchange any word with him after the reveal of his mark, feels still guilty about this. Akaashi looks at him when he hears his name, waits for Kurro to come closer. The older one approaches him hesitantly, almost in fear, his feet shuffling when he stops in front of Akaashi, different scenarios running in his head.

“Yes, Kuroo-san?”

He looks at him as if Kuroo asked him a question which encourages him to do exactly that, even if it takes him another second and a deep breath.

“Can I see it?”

“Of course.”

He turns around, pulling his shirt over his head without Kuroo specifically asking what he wants to see, like he expected this question sooner or later.

Its interesting to see this pattern not on a broad back but on a smaller frame, no tanned skin but slightly paler one.

“Kuroo-san?”

Akaashi almost jumps when he feels Kuroo's cold hand on his skin, the palm pressed against the mark, before his fingers are outlining it. Akaashi allows it as if he knows that he wants to make sure that this is real, not his imagination or a fake one.

(Kuroo had always been someone who confirmed his feelings with touching rather than seeing.)

“We were drunk that day and wondered whether you want to sleep with us”, he suddenly mumbles, fingers still tracing the pattern, like this is the only thing which keeps him from looking at the other one.

Akaashi laughs and it sounds beautiful.

“Is that the reason why Bokuto-san was so flustered?”

Always honest with himself, carrying his emotions on his sleeves; it's not a surprise that Akaashi figured it out.

“Pretty much.”

He smiles to himself now and Akaashi appears to be relieved, after all he feels responsible for the source of his discomfort and finally being able to see him smile again pushes his concern away for a moment, until he comes to a conclusion, doesn't feel like he'll regret what he is going to say.

“I wouldn’t have minded. Sleeping with you guys.”

“Now you do?”

“The tattoo changed things for you. Bokuto is simple-minded. He doesn’t care.”

Akaashi seems to realise how weird it sounded, furrows his brow while he adds that this isn’t really a bad thing, after all not everything has to be complicated

“Maybe. He tries to make the best of it, I guess”, Kuroo replies, hesitates for another moment, before he adds, “Would you want to try it? Dating, I mean.”

“I wouldn’t mind, not at all”, Akaashi answers truthfully before Kuroo reaches for his phone, considers to send a text but in the end he decides on a call.

“Kou? Can you come over?”, he asks, his voice quieter than usual as if he is scared that something would break when he speaks louder; the other one assures him that he'll come home as soon as he can.

“You look tired”, Akaashi remarks when Kuroo hangs up.

“I am.”

Akaashi doesn’t say another word, guides him down so that Kuroo's head lies in his lap, one hand combing trough the dark hair to calm him down while he tries to find some peace in his sleep.

This is how Bokuto finds them.

He looks excited and fidgets, wonders what's going on, but Akaashi’s gesture and a short glance keeps him quiet and so he sits down in front of the sofa, brushing trough Kuroo's hair instead of Akaashi whose hand needs some rest.

*

“Hey beautiful”, Bokuto grins when Kuroo opens his eyes and looks at him, earning himself a short groan before he closes his eyes again, feels a bit disorientated.

“Akaashi told me. You okay?”

“Yeah, sure”, he mumbles, getting up and rubbing his eyes, a last yawn leaving his lips.

“So...”, Bokuto starts, trails off because he has actually no idea why Kuroo asked him to come in the first place, why it couldn't wait until the evening.

“If Akaashi and you are alright with this, we could try... dating?”

It takes Kuroo some effort to say this and even though he wants to look away he is aware how important it is to look him in the eyes when he asks this, already knows Akaashi's answer and can guess Bokuto's; he needs to hear it a second time, so that they are completely sure about this.

“Hey hey hey, why this sudden interest?”

“I thought about this for a while.”

It had only been two days in which he really thought about this, but looking back on it, there had always been something about the three of them spending time together and when Bokuto asks “why?”, he huffs.

“You like him. I can see that. And don't lie to me”, he warns him when Bokuto starts a response, remaining silent when Kuroo cuts him off and sheepishly looking to the side, blushing a bit.

“Yes. I'd like to try it”, he admits, still a bit embarrassed though he isn't the only one and when Akaashi says that he is happy they open their relationship for him, all three of them are blushing.

(And it certainly won't be the last time.)

*

Kuroo doesn't have any idea how this is going to work out in the future, neither of them has, what will happen if it doesn't, but he realises that there is no need to worry, not any more.

After all the peony connects them in a way and he would wait to see what this might be.

He would take this risk

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write this kind of soulmate AU for a while now and I love these three so here we are. This is going to be a series because I really want to write a whole AU and I have too many ideas about platonic and romantic relationships. The next story will be about Kenma and his soulmate & anyone who follows my current stories might already know who that is and in conclusion which ship this will be about (not every soulmate will end up as a ship though!)  
> Thanks for reading! :3
> 
> Tiger: Power, dominance, energy, protection & guardianship, Passion & Sexual Prowess  
> Peony: “King of flowers”, Wealth, prosperity, good fortune & daring, risk taking  
> Dandelion: Childhood, delicacy, design, inner beauty, hope


End file.
